Cable grip

ABSTRACT

A contractable cable grip of the split or nonsplit type adapted to grip and support a cable in a conduit riser has an elongate body of diagonally interwoven wires depending from a loadsupporting annulus adapted to fit in and engage the vertical conduit riser to support a cable therein, each wire having a strand extending up through a hole in said annulus and a strand extending down through an adjacent hole when a loop portion engages the upper surface of the annulus, the pair of strands immediately below the annulus being secured tightly together to prevent the strands from pushing back through the holes when pressure is applied to the annulus while the cable grip is forced over the cable into the conduit riser. The annulus of the split grip consists of two semicircular pieces detachably held together by an aligning pin on each piece extending into a hole in the other piece, the annulus having depending lugs to locate it centralized in the conduit.

United States Patent Joseph Dil alma [72] lnventor Merritt St., SouthNorwalk, Conn. 06854 [21] App]. No. 862,895 [22] Filed Oct. 1, 1969 [45]Patented Aug. 17, 1971 [54] CABLE GRIP 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 248/60; 24/123 F, 248/309 [51] lnt.Cl. F161 3/00 [50] Fieldof Search "248/60,

[56] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,686,250 10/1928 Page24/123 A 1,994,674 3/l935 Van lnwagen 24/123 A, 1 2,681,781 6/1954Kellems 248/60 f 2,847,244 8/1958 DiPalma 24/123 A 3,399,853 9/1968Lewis 2,740,178 4/1956 Kellems Primary ExaminerChancellor E. HarrisAttorney-Johnson & Kline ABSTRACT: A contractablecable grip of the splitor nonsplit type adapted to grip and support a cable in a conduit riserhas an elongate body of diagonally interwoven-wires depending from aload-supporting annulus adapted to fit in and engage the verticalconduit riser to support a cable therein, each wire having a strandextending up through a hole in said annulus and a strand extending downthrough an adjacent hole when a 'IIIIIIIIII. 'II/IIIII/I 'IIIIIIII/IIl'PATENTEUAUGWEQH 3.599.913

INVIZNTOR.

I losep/L DU aZ/na,

HTTORA/E Y5 CABLE GRIP This invention relates to cable grips, and moreparticularly diagonally interwoven wires forming an open mesh tubularbody adapted to be placed over or around the cable so that when force isapplied to the load-bearing member and the end of the body in oppositedirections, the elongation of the tubular body causes its diameter to bereduced and the cable 'to be gripped by the body.

The load-bearing body is in the fonn of an annulus having an annularseries of pairs of holes through which the wires of the body arethreaded, each pair forming a loop engaging the top surface of theannulus and depending strands which are interwoven.

The diameter of the outer marginal portion of the annulus is such thatwhen the grip is in position on theriser, the outer marginal portion ofthe annulus engages the end of the riser or fitting attached thereto.

Heretofore when force was applied to the load-bearingannulus for thepurpose of pushing the grip into the conduit riser, the portions of thewire strands adjacent the annuluscould be pushed upwardly through theholes in the annulus with the result that, after the annulus was seatedin the riser conduit, force would have to be applied to the loops topush the strands down against the annulus; otherwise the load of thecable would not be taken by the annulus. In forcing the strands of wiredown through the holes in .the annulus, the loop portions were liable tobe crushed or bent or otherwise distortedso that the load on the wireswould not be evenly distributed on the annulus.

An object of this invention is to prevent such upward movement of thestrands through the annulus, andthis is accomplished in the forms of theinvention herein illustrated by causing the portions of each pair ofstrands of wire between the annulus and the portions of the strandswhichare interwoven to be tightly secured together under the annulus and thusclose the loop.

In one form of this invention, each pair of strands is secured togetherby twisting the wires for a substantial distance below the annulus; and,in another form of the invention, the wires are held together by anencircling band of metal. In either event, the portions of the wiresbrought together prevent the wires from moving upwardly through theholes of the annulus.

According to the present invention, the annulus is provided withdepending lugs spaced inwardly from their peripheral margins andpositioned to engage the inner surface of the conduit riser tocentralize the annulus in the conduit. 1

According to the present invention, the annulus for the split cable gripis preferably made of two separable parts so that the cable can bereceived between them, and these parts are held together by an aligningpin on each part engaging a hole in the other part.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of the split cable grip applied to a cableshowing in section a portion of the conduit riser and] annulus In commonwith cable grips as heretofore provided, the grip.

of the present invention comprises a load-bearingannulus having'acircular series of holes 11, and a body 12 comprising a plurality ofinterwoven wires 13 each extending from the lower cable-receiving end 14continuously to the annulus 10 where it extends up through a hole 1 1 inthe annulus and down through an adjacent hole 11 and having a flattenedloop portion 15 engaging an upper surface 16 of the annulus. Below theannulus l0, strands 17 of wires 13 are diagonally woven to produce thebody 12. When the grip isappliedto a cable C, the load of the cablewhich is applied to the annulus by the body'of the grip causes the bodyto elongate and the woven strands to constrict upon the cable and gripit.

One of the functions of the cable grip of the present invention is toabsorb the load of a vertically extending cable at the top and/or atthedeterminate positions alongthe height of the cable, depending on theweight of the cable for a given size and length. In practice, the cableis contained in a vertically installed rigid metal conduit or riser 18,sections of which are connected by one or more couplings to provide thedesired length, the riser being securedto the building against movement.

The load-supporting annulus 10 has a diameter to fit within the coupling19, or other fitting attached to the riser, and engage the end surfaceof the riser and thereby transfer the load of'the'cable to the riser.According to the present invention, the annulus is centered in the riserby means of lugs 20 which have their outer surfaces 21 arcuate to engagethe inside surface of the riser 18.

When the grip is intended for application to the end of a cable which isbeing initially installed, the strands 17 may be woven to form a tubularbody 12a and the load-bearing member maybe an integral annulus 10a shownin FIG. 5. In this-situation, the end of the cable being installed isinserted through the receiving end 14 of the body and forced throughthe'body and the annulus 10a, and the annulus and body are forceddownward so that the annulus engages the riser 18.

When the grip is to be used on an intermediate portion of the cable,i.'e., when the end of the cable is not available, the annulus 10, asshown in FIGS. l'to 4, is made to comprise two semicircular parts 22 andthe wire strands 17 are interwoven to provide a split 23 which permitsthe annulus to be parted and the body to be spread to admit the cable.Three pairs of strands are attached to each part 22 so that when theparts 22 are separated, the space aligns with the split 23.

For the purpose of joining the edges of the split body 12, the wirestrands 17 are shaped in being interwoven so as to provide loops 24through which may be threaded rods 25 defining the sides of the split.After the two parts 22 of the annulus are separated, the. open body 12is placed around the cable and the'rods25 are brought together andsecured by hooks 26.

The parts 22 of the annulus 10 are, according to the present invention,aligned and frictionally held together by pins 27, one on each part 22engaging a hole 28 on the other part.

7 In order that the bodies 12 and 12a maynormally engage the cable underresilient contracting pressure (when the sides of the split areconnected by the hooks 26), the body 12 and the body 12a as manufacturedhave diameters which are somewhat less than that of the cables withwhich they are to be used. Therefore, it is necessary, in order to wrapthe body 12 around the cable and fasten it by the hooks 26, to applyforce to the end 14 of the body and to the annulus to shorten the lengthof the body 12 and, as a consequence, increase its diameter. In the caseof the tubular body 12a, the bottom end and'the annulus must be pushedtogether in order to permit the'cable to enter and pass through the body12a. This can be done of course as an incident to the insertion of thecable in the body.

In installing the cable with theattachedcable grip in a conduit,considerable force must be applied to the annulus. Heretofore, thiscaused the portions of the strands 17 between the woven portion and theannulus to be pushed back through the holes 11 in'the annulus so thatthe loop portions 15 no longer engage the surface l6'of the annulus.After the annulus is seated onthe end of the conduit 18, force had to beapplied to the projecting loops to push them down on the annulus, and

in doing this frequently some of the loops are distorted with the resultthat the pressure on the strands applied to the annulus is notequalized.

To prevent the portions 29 of the strands 17 between the loop portionand the woven portion from being pushed upwardly through the holes 11under pressure, each pair of strands 17 is, according to the presentinvention, tightly twisted together as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5.This causes the twisted strands 31 to come together close to the bottomside of the annulus, so that the loops 15 are prevented from beinglifted off the surface of the annulus.

Instead of twisting the wire strands as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5,the portions 29 between the woven portion and the annulus may be heldtogether by rigid metal bands 30 as shown in FIG. 4.

I claim:

1. A cable grip having a load-bearing annulus; and an elongate open meshbody formed of diagonally woven wires depending from said annulus, eachwire comprising a strand extending from the bottom of the body upwardlythrough a hole in said annulus and having a loop portion extendingacross and lying flat on the upper surface of said annulus and a strandextending downwardly from said loop portion through an adjacent hole insaid annulus to the bottom of said body, the portions of said strands ofeach wire adjacent the underside of said annulus being tightly securedtogether to engage the underside of said annulus and prevent the strandsfrom being pushed up through said holes when force is applied to saidannulus and said body which would tend to cause said loop portions to beraised from the upper surface of said annulus.

2. A cable grip as defined in claim 1 in which said strands are securedtogether under said annulus by the portions of the strands adjacent saidannulus being twisted together to cause the twisted portions of thestrands to bind against the underside of the annulus.

3. A cable grip as defined in claim 1 in which said strands of wire aresecured together under said annulus by collars secured tightly aroundthe portions of said strands above the collars to bind against theunderside of the annulus.

4. A cable grip as defined in claim 1 in which the body is splitlengthwise and the annulus comprises two physically separate matchingsemicircular parts, each having one half the wire strands attached to itwith the spaces between the parts aligned with the split of the body,means for connecting the parts together, and means for closing the splitin the body.

5. A cable grip as defined in claim 4 in which the two parts of theannulus are aligned and held together by a pin on each part engaging ahole in the other part.

6. A cable grip as defined in claim 4 in which each part of said annulushas lugs depending from its underside and spaced inwardly from theperiphery of said annulus to center the latter and the body in the riserwith the peripheral margin of said annulus resting on the end of theriser, the two parts of said annulus being aligned and held together bya pin extending through one of said lugs on each of said parts engaginga hole in one of said lugs on the other part.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFECATE OF CORRECTEQN 3,599,913 DatedAugust 17, 1971 Patent No.

Inventor-(S) Joseph Di Palma It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters ?atent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Claim 3, line 3, after "strands" insert adjacent said annulus to causethe portions of the strands Signed and sealed this lath day of March1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

ROBERT GOTTSCHALK EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer

1. A cable grip having a load-bearing annulus; and an elongate open meshbody formed of diagonally woven wires depending from said annulus, eachwire comprising a strand extending from the bottom of the body upwardlythrough a hole in said annulus and having a loop portion extendingacross and lying flat on the upper surface of said annulus and a strandextending downwardly from said loop portion through an adjacent hole insaid annulus to the bottom of said body, the portions of said strands ofeach wire adjacent the underside of said annulus being tightly securedtogether to engage the underside of said annulus and prevent the strandsfrom being pushed up through said holes when force is applied to saidannulus and said body which would tend to cause said loop portions to beraised from the upper surface of said annulus.
 2. A cable grip asdefined in claim 1 in which said strands are secured together under saidannulus by the portions of the strands adjacent said annulus beingtwisted together to cause the twisted portions of the strands to bindagainst the underside of the annulus.
 3. A cable grip as defined inclaim 1 in which said strands of wire are secured together under saidannulus by collars secured tightly around the portions of said strandsabove the collars to bind against the underside of the annulus.
 4. Acable grip as defined in claim 1 in which the body is sPlit lengthwiseand the annulus comprises two physically separate matching semicircularparts, each having one half the wire strands attached to it with thespaces between the parts aligned with the split of the body, means forconnecting the parts together, and means for closing the split in thebody.
 5. A cable grip as defined in claim 4 in which the two parts ofthe annulus are aligned and held together by a pin on each part engaginga hole in the other part.
 6. A cable grip as defined in claim 4 in whicheach part of said annulus has lugs depending from its underside andspaced inwardly from the periphery of said annulus to center the latterand the body in the riser with the peripheral margin of said annulusresting on the end of the riser, the two parts of said annulus beingaligned and held together by a pin extending through one of said lugs oneach of said parts engaging a hole in one of said lugs on the otherpart.